Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the start of a “new day” with respect to US-Pakistan ties, following a series of talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi.
The biggest concrete move appears to be the announcement of another $125 million in aid to Pakistan’s energy sector and the promise to speed up deliveries of various weapons to Pakistan. Pakistan says it has been waiting for months for the weapons.
Minister Qureshi lauded the talks, saying that for the first time the US appeared to have cast aside its typical distrust of Pakistan’s motives, and was not constantly demanded that they do more in the assorted conflicts along the Afghan border.
But so far at least the Obama Administration has balked at Pakistan’s top priority, to be recognized formally as a nuclear weapons power so they can have a civil nuclear cooperation pact. Pakistan is believed to have a nuclear arsenal of 80-120 warheads, and the US has contributed to ensuring the security of its nuclear weapons program. Despite this, US officials refused to comment on the Pakistani call for recognition, and discussion on the matter appears not to have gone anywhere.